3)what are the advantages of taking IB Diploma? In comparison to others.Your main alternative in Singapore would be to take the Singapore-GCE A-levels. In that case, you have no advantage from an US/UK admissions point-of-view. It is widely held that the S-GCE A-levels, along with the HKALE, are much harder than the UK equivalent and thus on par or even surpassing the IB programme. RJ and HC should have better reputations among the US/UK universities so you might get a *tiny* boost from there as well

In short: IB is very widely recognised, but you do have to put a lot of effort in. It is tough to get 40+ points in the actual diploma. Statistically 40 points is equivalent to the 94th percentile. Your english seems fine, but some subjects will be more challenging than others. (eg. Business and possible Economics.)

If I am not mistaken you will need to take the UMAT, Undergraduate Medical Aptitude Test, and your chances of getting an interview is very much based on this. Not because they look solely on this, but because 3As in A levels only accounts for an ENTER score of 98.5, which isn't quite enough unless you do well in UMAT.However, obtaining a top 5% in UMAT(as in top 5% of all the people who took the test) and 3As in A-Levels will almost guarantee you an interview. Then, your interview will be the make or break.Some Unis are beginning to scrap the interview process and some do not require them for international students though, so I'm not sure about that

As you can from the data above, the price plunges by more than 10% in a year only in 1997 and 1998during the Asian Financial Crisis. You must remember then that there was also a huge over-supply of new HDB then of which some still remain unsold today. Given that the government is trying not to over-supply with its BTO, rather than just build without order in the 90s, I personally think it's unlikely for the same sort of over-supply to happen this time round. In addition, the HDB rental demand is very strong too. In the 90s, HDB owners do not have the option of leasing their flats.The peak price was in 1996, 4Q (PPI=136.9). The current PPI is 131.7, still below the peak. In fact, my judgement says prices for resale HDB are very unlikely to fall like in 1997-98 even if we should go into a recession.My forecast for price fall is largely for private property where there is an accumulation of unsold units and where ROI is already low and rental yield is likely to see more downside

You have to pay the market rate or the man will stake out and join Morgan Stanley, Lehman Brothers or Goldman Sachs. You would have an incompetent man and you could lose money by the billions." — Lee Kuan Yew.

Lee Kuan Yew, NRIC number 0000003E, of 38, Oxley Road, Singapore

A third group is relatively untouched by the downturn. The individuals in this group have paid off their mortgages and, while their investment portfolios may be down sharply, they still have an adequate cushion. Nonetheless this group is also cutting back because engaging in conspicuous consumption seems like bad manners when so many other people are suffering. However, he says, people in this group are still traveling to places where they can be reasonably confident no one they know will see what they are spending.

Flaunting money is considered gauche: if you've got it, please keep it to yourself -- or give some away!

I dreamt 3A and 3C

S2 selection starts on this coming Monday, 2 March, for queue numbers 140-154

It is not a zero sum game as long as the govt don't kill the resale market with over supply and over invested properties.Young family who needs bigger flat now must not feel that their investment will worth nothing or that they will suffer a great loss when it is time for them to downgrade because their kids have grown up and left to build their own nests elsewhere.And for many singles who own properties, they too can liquidate by downgrading to finance their old age.For most singaporeans, their home is their only asset. They have put so much money into this pigeon holes , do you want their homes to worth nothing or cause them great financial loss?90% of them are homeowners. Don't play play. The government knows that.You just hope the government don't screw up the value of your family or your homes which is highly possible because of oversupply and the reliance on foreigners.High value is not an issue if we keep to an affordable formula for most singaporeans. But a rock and roll property market will only benefit the savvy rich investors - not stupid investors.The people who are preaching doom to the market are probably waiting at the sideline to reap from unfortunate homeowners who have fallen into bad times and force a fire sale.I opt for a stable property market.Once up, stay and hold and preferably,don't rise beyond the means of the general market nor fall to the point of hurting our fellowmen.For those who truly can't afford even the most modest homes, we can always press the government for more subsidies to breach the gap for these folks.Overall, a healthy return for our homes can only benefit everyone in the long term.No true singaporean will want to see those who have fallen into bad times to lose their homes or suffer great financial loss because of it so that some dogs can come along and pick it up and make a huge profit when the prices rise again

Penthouses: The Facts
1. Usually, though not always, the top floor. Great views, terraces, balconies and outside space.
2. Private lift or lift that allows penthouse owner privacy while s/he is using it.
3. High-tech features such as comfort cooling, plasma screens in bathrooms and bedrooms, touch pad electronic controls, integrated sound system, high-tech lighting and security systems, etc.
4. Top of the range fixtures and fittings: brochures will invariably name-check, Lutron, Bang & Olufsen, Creston, etc.
5. Exceptional bespoke design and use of highest quality materials - architectural glass, rare timbers, solid oak floors, marble, hand-painted silk wallpaper etc.
6. Saunas, steam rooms, wet rooms, swimming pools, cinemas and media rooms.
7. In developments: top notch concierge services. More recent penthouses crown developments with restaurants and hotel type services.
8. Buyers: rich, and super-rich (celebs, corporate kings etc). 'Boy done good' types - one of the penthouses in New Providence was sold to a scrap metal merchant. International types in search of a bolt-hole with the wow factor.
9. Buyers: in the loft market, arty and design types who want to create their own bespoke space.
More about penthouses: Check out Jonathan Bell's excellent new book Penthouse Living, Wiley 2005.

Number of Places in the Program for 2009- Total number of international full-fee paying places - 10Annual Tuition Fee for International Students Commencing in 2009- The 2009 tuition fee is to be announced. The 2008 tuition fee was $32,970 AUD for the first year of the program with a total program tuition fee for all years of study: $251,360 AUD.- Please note that the above tuition may increase by 5% for each year of the program.

Recently, my colleague, Dennis Chan, wrote that in October, he had called up his remisier to make purchases of Sembcorp Marine at $1.10 if it should fall to that level, while he was in Japan.
His rationale: That was the price per share which SembCorp Industries had tried unsuccessfully to privatise the rig-builder in 2002.
Presumably, many other investors had the same idea. SembMarine briefly touched $1.15 that month before making a successful rebound. It now hovers around $1.50.
Yesterday, CapitaLand announced that it was raising $1.84 billion by selling a new share at $1.30 to investors for every two shares they currently own in the firm.
By sheer coincidence, this is close to the $1.10 listing price of CapitaLand’s predecessor firm, DBS Land, in 1987.
At the same time, its offspring, CapitaMall Trust, is raising $1.23 billion via a nine-for-10 rights issue at 82 cents a unit. The IPO for the real estate investment trust IPO in 2002 had been priced at 96 cents a unit – just fractionally above the rights price which investors are now required to pay.
Similarly, DBS is hovering around $8.25. This was incidentally the price which the stock had fallen to, during the Sars crisis in 2003, even though this is strictly speaking not a meaningful comparison because of the bank’s recent rights issue.

40 yrs ago, spore was still a developing country with a huge potential growth like China today. Especially in the first 30 yrs, spore enjoyed many years of double-digit growth. So HDB price increases in tandem with spore economic growth, with ups and downs in between. Hence, a 40-yr old Queenstown flat many times today. What people must know is that Spore is now a developed country and a growth of 4%-6% is considered very good. Now, with the recession deepening and the recovery likely to be long and weak, we may see years of 1%-2% growth. So you can only expect your HDB flat to appreciate by that much going forward. It's the HDB flats that are priced according to the mass's affordability. Clearly, private property at current price will have a long way to adjust downward to meet the affordability of the average household esp with the credit crunch biting so hard and retrenchment is yet to see the worst